Matthew 13:1-23 English Standard Version (ESV) Listen: https://www.biblegateway.com/audio/mclean/esv/Matt.13.1-Matt.13.23 The Parable of the Sower 13:1 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. 2 And great crowds gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach. 3 And he told them many things in parables, saying: “A sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. 5 Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, 6 but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away. 7 Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. 8 Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9 He who has ears, let him hear.” The Purpose of the Parables 10 Then the disciples came and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” 11 And he answered them, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. 12 For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 13 This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. 14 Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says: “‘“You will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive.” 15 For this people's heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them.’ 16 But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. 17 For truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it. The Parable of the Sower Explained 18 “Hear then the parable of the sower: 19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path. 20 As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, 21 yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away. 22 As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. 23 As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.” This is a slightly longer passage than normal because this is one of the parables that Jesus explains to His disciples, and I wanted to make sure to give both the parable and the explanation because it is one of the parables that I see most often twisted to try to say things that it doesn't say--and the true meaning is right there in the text. Because the explanation of the parable is given by Jesus, most of my commentary will focus on the middle portion of today's text on why Jesus spoke in parables.
There is some debate about how many people in this story are truly saved. The only one we know for sure that's saved is the seed that fell on good soil it took root and brought forth fruit and was reproductive--yielding a crop greater than that which was sown. We're also fairly confident that the person with the heat described as "hard soil" or "the path" is not saved because the seed was taken away and never took root. The question usually arises concerning the seed that fell on rocky soil and the seed that fell among the weeds. The rocky soil seems to represent the apostate or the one who "turns away" which we've already seen the answer to this one in 1 John 2:19, "19 They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us." The seed that fell on the "thorny" soil seems to be the idolatrous man who buts money, family, and other things before God, and we know that these men also have no part in the kingdom of heaven. However, I think it's more than that. Jesus is putting down a litmus test of sorts that those who are genuine disciples of his will "be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it" in obedience to the command given and repeated by God in the book of Genesis to Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. This commandment should be fulfilled in a spiritual sense by the Church and all true followers of Christ. If we aren't alive, fruitful and reproductive, then we must search our hearts to see if we truly belong to Him. Now, back to the main part that I wanted to give commentary on. Jesus' disciples came to Him to ask why He was beginning to teach in parables. Jesus' answer seems to indicate that the parables were not only to reveal the truth to some, but to conceal the truth from others. Jesus had given the same truth to many people and like the seed that landed on different soils, the responses varied greatly. Some had hearts that had been prepared by God to be ready to receive the truth and understand it--this itself was a gift from God as we'll see later. It was not simply enough for Jesus to plainly speak the truth because not everyone was ready and willing to accept the truth of the gospel. For those who believed the truth that they heard by faith, they were given understanding and were given more truth and more understanding. But those who did not believe the truth that was plainly spoken to them should not expect God to make them believe or understand it or to receive new or additional truth when they won't accept the truth that is plainly seen and they have clearly rejected. This is the message of Romans 1 which I also hope to get to one day soon. It is a hard truth for us to swallow that many who are lost are in that condition by choice because they have clearly seen God through His creation but have willingly chosen to worship the creature and creation rather than the Creator because they do want to admit that their is a God to whom they are accountable and desire to live their lives in opposition to the law of God, and God gives them over to the consequences of their sin and causes them to believe delusions so that they will not believe in Him--at some point they have hardened their hearts and God will not force them to make a decision to love Him when they don't want to, but He will permit their minds to be deceived so that they will believe whatever other lies they come up with to permit them to live in all kinds of wickedness--even to the point of denying the natural order of things because this also is a way to thumb their nose at God and His authority. They are known not for their obedience and fruitfulness, but for their rebellion and perverse lifestyles. Jesus explains this to be a fulfillment of the prophecy given by the prophet Isaiah regarding the generation of people when the Messiah would come. "You will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive.” 15 For this people's heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them.’ These people saw and heard the same things that the disciples did in many cases (in some cases only the disciples were around for certain teachings or miracles), but their hearts were not ready and therefore they did not receive the gospel and it did not take root, and therefore they did not produce fruit. We'll come back to this when Jesus walks past the fig tree later in His ministry and curses it because it should have been ready for Him and it looked like it was alive on the outside, but what good is a tree that produces no fruit? Notice that the prophecy even states that the people choose to close their eyes unless they possibly see the truth and they intentionally close off their ears to the truth so that they don't want to hear. "seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear" God promises that if they would repent and turn to Him that He would be ready to turn to them and receive the like the parable of the Prodigal Son where the father was waiting for the son to come home and ran to meet Him while he was a far way off. Ask yourself what condition your heart is in. What type of soil has the truth of God's Word fallen on? Have you responded to the gospel in faith, and is the power of the gospel visible in your life? Have you turned away because you never really believed or have you let the truth of the gospel be choked out by idolatry? If you were a fruit tree and someone came up to you to inspect your fruit to figure out what kind of tree you were, what would they find? Would they find you to be fruitful or not? Would you be bearing the fruit of the spirit or would your fruit represent the desires of your flesh? Are you expecting God to make you believe something that you don't want to believe? Are you telling God that if only He would give you a little more truth and one more sigh, then maybe you would be convinced when He has already spoken clearly to you and you have rejected both His salvation and lordship? Are you acting on the truth that has been revealed to you in faith? Are you fulfilling the spiritual commandment to be fruitful and multiply by fulfilling the Great Commission?
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Matthew 12:43-50 English Standard Version (ESV) Return of an Unclean Spirit 43 “When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, but finds none. 44 Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when it comes, it finds the house empty, swept, and put in order. 45 Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there, and the last state of that person is worse than the first. So also will it be with this evil generation.” Jesus' Mother and Brothers 46 While he was still speaking to the people, behold, his mother and his brothers stood outside, asking to speak to him. 48 But he replied to the man who told him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” 49 And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 50 For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.” Remember that Jesus has just been in a debate with the Pharisees about under what authority He casts out demons and by what authority they cast out demons. Jesus now gives some insight into the spiritual realm to say that when a demon is cast out of a man it is as if that demon is cast out into a desert place where there is no rest or comfort and it is miserable for the demon, but the demon still has free will to return. It is not as if the demon is suddenly imprisoned and unable to harm anyone ever again. In this story, Jesus tells of the fact that the demon returns and finds the "house" (the person's soul) in a condition ready to accept visitors and invite guests over--I take this to mean that even though the demon was cast out the person is still lost and living in way that is inviting and welcoming to the evil spirits and that they've neither repented nor set up anything that would act as a "lock" on the door to prevent them engaging in the old habits that got them in trouble. Kicking the unclean spirit out isn't enough if the house doesn't change ownership. If this demon had returned and the Holy Spirit had taken up residence in the man's heart, there is no way that the demon would have felt welcomed or able to invite his seven "friends" over--putting the man in an even more demonized state than before. I think of issues like drug addiction here where people go into programs and rehab, or maybe even go to jail and they "get clean" for a time but as soon as they come out they immediately get a "fix" and get high because the issues in their lives were never resolved and they are still ripe for substance abuse to escape that reality, however there is a law of diminishing returns involved and they have to use more powerful drugs more often and they may even get to the point where they intentionally try to overdose or or take something that they know will kill them. At times they may even admit that they hear demons telling them to kill themselves. Often this is simply attributed to mental illness and them "hearing voices," but I'm not convinced that demons don't play a role in men going into an altered mental state where they are susceptible to being demonized. The Greed word for witchcraft is the same word we get "pharmaceuticals" (drugs) and "pharmacy" and "pharmacist" from. However, any time we put ourselves into the state of a "trance" or altered mental state or "empty our minds" to listen to our inner voice, we are in danger of listening to the voice of demons and inviting them in. This is why those of you who are my friends know that I warn so many of you in participating in yoga and condemn the idea of "Christian yoga" because Christians have no place in mixing the true God of Christianity with the paganism and witchcraft of this religious system that is a gateway to get people involved and trapped in Hinduism. While we have not gotten to the Pauline epistles yet, we will soon get there and study these verses: 2 Corinthians 6:14-18 English Standard Version (ESV) 14 Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? 15 What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? 16 What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, “I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 17 Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you, 18 and I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty.” Moving onto the next part of today's reading, Jesus is then immediately confronted by his own family who wanted Him to come away with Him. Whatever the reason they wanted Him, Jesus knew both their hearts and the temptation that He would face to not complete His mission He had been sent on if He left to go home with them. My hypothesis is this might have been the point where Joseph died as it is the first time we see only Jesus' brothers, sisters, and mother mentioned without Joseph also being mentioned and from here on out Joseph appears to be referenced in the past tense. If so, it would make a lot of sense to say "Jesus, come home for the funeral." or "Jesus, you are the firstborn and it's your responsibility to take over the business and take care of the family now."
Whatever the reason (which, again, I admit we don't really know because the text does not tell us), Jesus makes a choice to send what may be viewed as an odd message back to them (but maybe not so odd, but still very hurtful I'm sure, if my speculation is correct). If they were asking Jesus to come home and take care of His family, Jesus' reply of "This is my family. Here are my brothers and mother (pointing to His followers)" would be a definite response of "That responsibility needs to pass to someone else because I already have these people to care for, and I choose these people first. Jesus just told us in Chapter 10 that whoever wasn't willing to leave family behind wasn't worthy to follow after Him. I think this is Jesus putting those words into practice in His own life. Jesus still loved His family very much as we'll see in other places, but when it comes to God's calling for your life, family obligations should not stand in the way of obedience, nor should we as friends and family attempt to stand in the way of the mission we know God has called someone to. Matthew 12:33-42 English Standard Version (ESV) LISTEN: https://www.biblegateway.com/audio/mclean/esv/Matt.12.33-Matt.12.42 A Tree Is Known by Its Fruit 33 “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit. 34 You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. 35 The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. 36 I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, 37 for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” The Sign of Jonah 38 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.” 39 But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41 The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here. 42 The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here. We return to one of the teachings from the Sermon on the Mount---there are only two types of trees....good trees and bad trees. It is the nature of a good tree to produce good fruit and the nature of a bad tree to produce bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit and a bad tree cannot produce good fruit (at least in the eyes of God, because God sees the "root" and the "fruit" and "our good deeds are as filthy rags" to Him if we are a "bad tree.")
Jesus is talking here to the Pharisees and calling them hypocrites because he knows they are "bad trees" that are trying to look like they are producing "good fruit," that they think is pleasing to God. Jesus is telling them that God is not impressed and they need to fix their heart first. He then tells them their identity as He sees them--a brood of vipers. Remember that Satan is closely connected to the image of a snake because of what happened in the Garden of Eden, so calling anyone a "snake" or "viper" would be like Jesus saying "You are of your father, the devil," which He will say very clearly in a debate with the Pharisees in the book of John. Jesus asks them how what comes out of them can be good when they are full of evil? The idea is that a viper is full of poison or venom and that anything that comes out of the vipers mouth is dangerous and toxic and might even kill you. The key verses of this part of the passage is right here---"Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil." What they don't realize at this point is that there is only one good person and that is Jesus because only God is good and Jesus is the only person who is God in the flesh. So Jesus will bring forth much good out of the good treasure that He has stored up inside of Him, but no man has anything good inside of himself to present before God because we are full of evil. We are all "bad trees" producing "bad fruit" until Jesus changes our nature and identity Jesus will continue to come back to this lesson throughout his ministry and will tell them things like "You clean the outside of the cup, but the inside is filthy" or "You whitewash the outside of the tomb (to make it look pretty), but the inside is full of dead men's bones (and the stench of death)." He will continue to point out their hypocricy, not just for them, but for the people that follow them and think they have the answers and that the Pharisees know the right way to get to God, and remember that the power of God and His gospel can change anyone even a Pharisee--because we'll see later that's exactly what happened with Saul of Tarsus (better known as the apostle Paul). Jesus wraps up this part by reminding them that on judgment day they will give an account for every idle and careless word and that their words will reveal what's in their hearts. It is by our words we will be justified (if we have made a profession of faith in the salvation provided by the Lord Jesus Christ) and by our words we will be condemned if the words that best summarize our life are the lyrics of an old song--"I Did It My Way." Jesus then broadens His focus off of the Pharisees to the entire generation of people and those that are following after Jesus for the wrong reason. In this case, the people continued to ask for more and more signs (miracles) to authenticate who Jesus was, but Jesus said that at this point more than enough signs had been given to them and no more signs would be given to this wicked and adulterous generation (they had given their hearts to the world when they had committed their hearts to a lifelong commitment to God) other than the sign of Jonah. Then Jesus explains that as Jonah was in the belly of the fish for 3 days and 3 nights, so the Son of Man (that's Jesus) would be in the belly of the earth for 3 days and 3 nights. What's not said is that Jonah was spit up out of the belly of the fish after this time and it was an image of the coming resurrection where Jesus would come out of the tomb alive after the 3rd day. This is one of the clearest prophecies that Jesus makes about knowing that He's not only going to die, but that He's only going to be dead for a short time and that He's going to be brought back to life afterwards. This truth was concealed though until the resurrection happened and then the Holy Spirit brought back these words to those who belonged to Christ and they understood while those who did not belong to him were deluded and believed lies and made up other stories--some of which are still circulated to this very day. Jesus then has some harsh words for the people that the citizens of Ninnevah that Jonah preached to recognized their spiritual condition and they cried out to God for mercy and salvation and that it was granted to them--a very wicked, Gentile nation. Not only is Jesus saying that these people would be in the same heaven as the Jews, but that these people would sit as judges condemning those of this generation that had God in the flesh walking among them and they refused to admit their spiritual condition and cry out to the Son of God (or the Father) for mercy and forgiveness because it would have been freely offered to them. Then another person referred to as The Queen of the South (probably Cleopatra) is also someone mentioned as a person who would sit in judgment over this generation because she recognized the wisdom of God and sought it out by going to Solomon, but Jesus is giving them even greater wisdom than Solomon could ever know and is far greater than Solomon, but they have no desire to hear these words of wisdom--they just want more "magic tricks" as they ask Jesus to "show them another sign." These are their words that show their heart and will condemn them because these words reveal their nature and their root issue which Jesus addresses by calling them "wicked and adulterous." They were unable to respond and produce good fruit because they were bad trees, and nothing would change that apart from the power of the resurrection which brings new life and a new nature to all who believe and call upon the name of the Lord. Matthew 12:15-32 English Standard Version (ESV) God's Chosen Servant 15 Jesus, aware of this, withdrew from there. And many followed him, and he healed them all 16 and ordered them not to make him known. 17 This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: 18 “Behold, my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved with whom my soul is well pleased. I will put my Spirit upon him, and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles. 19 He will not quarrel or cry aloud, nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets; 20 a bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not quench, until he brings justice to victory; 21 and in his name the Gentiles will hope.” Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit 22 Then a demon-oppressed man who was blind and mute was brought to him, and he healed him, so that the man spoke and saw. 23 And all the people were amazed, and said, “Can this be the Son of David?” 24 But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, “It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this man casts out demons.” 25 Knowing their thoughts, he said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand. 26 And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? 27 And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. 28 But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. 29 Or how can someone enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? Then indeed he may plunder his house. 30 Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. 31 Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. 32 And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come. Perhaps a strange title for today's blog, but in the first part of today's passage, Jesus identifies Himself as the chosen servant of God (essentially saying, "I am the promised Messiah."), but the religious leaders in the next portion of the passage try to stir up the people and say that He can only cast out demons because He himself is a demon and is Beelzebul, the prince of demons, and that He is doing the wishes of the devil--to deceive the people of God. With that in mind, let's look more fully at both parts of the passage. First, Jesus clearly proclaims His identity by quoting from various passages in Isaiah (cited at the end of today's blog if you'd like to read these prophecies). We have already seen God confirm the first prophecy at Jesus' baptism when He speaks from Heaven and says "This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased" and we will see God say this again on the Mount of Transfiguration where the Father adds the imperative, "Listen to Him." at the end of His statement of pleasure in the Son. At the same time we have also seen the Spirit of God come upon Jesus in the form of a dove (at His baptism), but now comes the part that the Jewish people had gotten wrong for so long--"...to proclaim justice to the Gentiles." The Jews assumed this would mean that the Messiah would come as a conquering King (like we see in the book of Revelation at Christ's second coming) and would destroy all the wicked Gentile nations--especially those who had enslaved and mistreated the Jews for centuries. But thank God that is not the "justice" that Jesus preached to the Jews and the Gentiles alike--His was a gospel of peace that He would offer Himself as the payment for our sins so that God's wrath would be satisfied for Jew and Gentile alike and that justice would be satisfied because He bore the pain and the penalty that we deserved. Jesus quickly transitions to prophecies about the manner in which He would die, which is what makes me think that this was the "justice" that He had in mind. He would be bruised and beaten, but not broken (no bone would be broken) and He would stand silent in the face of His accusers, offering no argument to defend Himself. Nor did He fight back or order the angels at His command to fight for Him. It would be obvious that the torture that He endured should be enough to kill Him, but He would not die until His mission was accomplished--to bring salvation for the Jew and the Gentile alike. In this He would "bring justice to victory" and "in His name the Gentiles will hope.". Not surprisingly after this, someone brought Jesus a man who had been oppressed by demons so that the man could not see or speak. When Jesus healed the man the crowd immediately began to ask, "Can this be the Son of David" (the promised Messiah). If I were Jesus, I might have answered with "Haven't you been listening? That's what I just said," but Jesus says nothing to them. Instead the Pharisees seize the opportunity to confuse the people and try to remain both political and religious leaders of the people as Jesus now put both of those in jeopardy with His declaration. They knew Rome would not tolorate someone who claimed to be the rightful heir to the throne of David (this is the question the people were asking---if He was the King of the Jews), nor would the allow for someone who said they were the one true God because all Roman citizens were only allowed to continue worshiping their gods as long as they paid homage to Caesar and made the declaration that "Caesar is Lord." We'll see this come into play in the trial of Jesus when the religious leaders manipulate Pilate who was about to declare Jesus innocent by saying, "He claims to be a king" at which point Pilate takes Jesus back inside to question Him some more. It will ultimately be this "crime" for which Jesus will die as the charges will read "JESUS, THE KING OF THE JEWS" The Pharisees were quick on their feet and suggested that Jesus didn't exercise authority over demons because He was God in the flesh and they had to obey him--no, they hypothesizes he must be demonized by a more superior demon that that the lesser demons had to obey and that this could be none other than Beelzebub the prince of demons (probably a false god that was so awful that it became associated with the devil himself). Once again, Jesus shows His true identity though by knowing their thoughts before they say anything to Him. Jesus responds by telling them how foolish it would be for a house or kingdom to be divided against itself--it makes no sense for a demon-possessed person to cast out demons from another demon-possessed person because this would weaken, not strengthen the kingdom of darkness. Then Jesus turns it around and asks by what authority they cast out demons--the answer is probably that they didn't cast out demons and this is probably what Jesus means when he says they will be your judges (as we don't see anywhere else is Scripture where demons are given any authority to judge the non-believers). Jesus then identifies the crisis for the people there saying that if He casts out demons by the Spirit of God then that means that the kingdom of heaven is upon them and they are rejecting the King and the kingdom. Jesus identifies this as a hostile takeover of the kingdom of darkness by the kingdom of God in that He says that if a thief comes into a man's house to take what belongs to him, he must first bind the strong man of the house. Jesus must first render Satan, sin, and death noneffective at the cross before He could rescue (steal away) anyone who belongs to that kingdom. Then He can "plunder the house" at will. Now comes one of the most contested passages in the Bible, but I think it makes complete sense in context. Jesus says that every sin committed against the Son will be forgiven--we see this at the crucifixion when Jesus cries out, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do," but that the sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. Given the context of this passage, and that it appears that Jesus is saying that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit has been committed here, it appears that Jesus is talking about knowingly attributing the work of the Holy Spirit to the work of the devil in order to deceive people and cause those who have heard the truth, know the truth and understand the truth to believe an alternate story so that they will not believe. In a sense this is unforgivable because someone going to these lengths has committed themselves to never believing no matter what evidence is shown to them, so they stand condemned already. It is not so much that Christ is unwilling to forgive them as much as they are unwilling to accept that forgiveness and they are actively working against the stated mission of Jesus and the Spirit of God to bring all men unto Himself--both Jews and Gentiles (remember the first part of our passage today). I will freely admit that I don't fully understand what blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is, but I know I haven't committed it because I have been saved and forgiven and Jesus makes it clear in other passages that He cannot lose anyone that belongs to Him, so it should be impossible for someone who is truly saved to commit this unforgivable sin. It should be clear from this passage though that they YouTube trend of people trying to commit this sin is probably not what Jesus was talking about--though it does show the hearts of these people making these videos that perhaps they have committed this sin in their hearts as they would rather secure their place in hell than bend then submit to the King and His kingdom in the present if that's the price of forgiveness. They choose to have no king other than themselves not knowing that the flesh and the devil work together to keep such people in bondage as part of the kingdom of darkness. Remember that one day when Jesus returns as the conquering king and judge over all the world that every knee will bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Even these Pharisees will one day be forced to admit the truth and stand in judgment for it if they never repented of their sins and believed the finished work of Christ and accepted Jesus as both Savior and Lord. Isaiah 42:1-3 English Standard Version (ESV)
42 Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my Spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations. 2 He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the street; 3 a bruised reed he will not break, and a faintly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice. Isaiah 61:1 English Standard Version (ESV) 61 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; Isaiah 42:4 English Standard Version (ESV) 4 He will not grow faint or be discouraged till he has established justice in the earth; and the coastlands wait for his law. Matthew 12:1-14 English Standard Version (ESV) LISTEN: www.biblegateway.com/audio/mclean/esv/Matt.12.1-Matt.12.14 Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath 12:1 At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry, and they began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. 2 But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to him, “Look, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath.” 3 He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, and those who were with him: 4 how he entered the house of God and ate the bread of the Presence, which it was not lawful for him to eat nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests? 5 Or have you not read in the Law how on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are guiltless? 6 I tell you, something greater than the temple is here. 7 And if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless. 8 For the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.” A Man with a Withered Hand 9 He went on from there and entered their synagogue. 10 And a man was there with a withered hand. And they asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”—so that they might accuse him. 11 He said to them, “Which one of you who has a sheep, if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not take hold of it and lift it out? 12 Of how much more value is a man than a sheep! So it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” 13 Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And the man stretched it out, and it was restored, healthy like the other. 14 But the Pharisees went out and conspired against him, how to destroy him. From this point forward, we are going to see much conflict between the Pharisees (and other religious leaders) and Jesus, mostly questioning by what authority He says and does certain things, but even at times trying to ask Him questions to trap Him into answering a question in such a way that might disqualify Him. However, since they couldn't pin down Jesus very often, they would go for the second-best thing....his disciples. They would wait to catch them doing something that they perceived to be against the Law of Moses and then come back to Jesus and ask for an explanation on why the disciples "broke the Law" with the implication that Jesus was responsible for their choices and that it was His bad teaching that was the reason for their bad choices. In this case, the disciples were hungry and were walking by a grainfield and they picked some heads of grain, rubbed them in their hands to separate the kernels of wheat from the chaff, blew the chaff away and then ate the kernels of wheat. Let's just look at a few verses--first those that in favor of what the disciples were doing and then a few verses that the Pharisees thought said that what the disciples were doing was wrong. Verses that Allowed the Disciples to Eat the Grain Along the Side of the Road Leviticus 19:9-10 English Standard Version (ESV) 9 “When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, neither shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. 10 And you shall not strip your vineyard bare, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the Lord your God. Leviticus 23:22 English Standard Version (ESV) 22 “And when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, nor shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the Lord your God.” Verses that Prohibit Harvesting on the Sabbath Exodus 34:21 English Standard Version (ESV) 21 “Six days you shall work, but on the seventh day you shall rest. In plowing time and in harvest you shall rest. Leviticus 23:3 English Standard Version (ESV) 3 “Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work. It is a Sabbath to the Lord in all your dwelling places. So, where do we stand at this point? Are we at an impasse? Jesus doesn't directly answer their question about harvesting grain, but instead points to another point in time where a revered figure, King David, took his army into the temple and asked for the priests to feed them with the Showbread that was consecrated to the LORD and that no one was supposed to eat other than the priest--and then only under very special conditions. But the priests fed the men with this bread so that they wouldn't starve. The implication is made here that this situation is similar and that the disciples were starving and it was permissible for them to eat whatever food was available, even if it broke some Law. Notice we don't see Jesus participating, so Jesus is not breaking the Law Himself, nor is He actually teaching them to break the Law, but just saying form a position of authority that a man is not guilty of breaking the Sabbath by feeding himself when he is starving by means that would be otherwise lawful if it was okay for King David to feed his men by a means that was always unlawful.
Jesus then added a little "zinger" as He often does reminding the Pharisees that the priests definitely work in the temple on the Sabbath as part of their ministry to God and are not guilty. Jesus said that He is greater than the temple--God actually making His dwelling ("tabernacling") among us and infers that His disciples are just about the business of performing their "priestly duties." Then Jesus hits at the heart of the matter when He tells them to read and understand the Old Testament (not just the Law, but the Prophets now) where God says that He desires mercy, not sacrifice and if they had understood this principle then they would not find guilt where none existed. Then Jesus lowers the boom on them and says that He is the Lord of the Sabbath, meaning it was going to be up to Him to judge those who broke the Sabbath later and if He declared the disciples guiltless, then the discussion was over (and it was). The Pharisees were not satisfied with this, so they moved on to new tactics where they instead tried to set Jesus up in public where all the people could see Jesus ignoring the traditions of the elders regarding how to keep the Sabbath (which is not the same as breaking the Law itself). Either way though, we've already hinted at the fact that it's impossible for God to break the Sabbath because the Sabbath is something that He created to give rest to us and the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath (see Mark 2:27). The Pharisees knew where Jesus would have to go to synagogue to worship as people were restricted by how far they could travel on the Sabbath, so they were ready to meet Jesus there and set up a trap for Him by bringing a man with a withered hand into the congregation to see if just perhaps Jesus would heal Him in front of the everyone in attendance. Notice that the Pharisees instigated the confrontation (and at "church" nonetheless) asking Jesus if it was proper to heal on the Sabbath with this man standing right next to them. Jesus again doesn't answer "Yes" or "No" like they want, but instead changes the scenario on them to show the principle at work. He asked them if they were a shepherd responsible for their flock of sheep and one of them fell into a hole on the Sabbath, would they wait until the next day to retrieve the sheep? Of course not! Then Jesus points out that men have much more value than sheep and seems to tell us that it is always good to do good on the Sabbath. Then Jesus answers their question with actions. He commands the man to stretch out His hand and it was immediately made whole just like the man's other hand that was not withered. The Pharisees had been beaten and they knew it, and they went out mad and plotting among themselves on how they were going to destroy Jesus--maybe by destroying His reputation, or maybe by killing Him. They haven't committed to that yet, but they will soon. It will not be long when they will feel like their only option is to kill this man which endangers their authority and their system of governance and their control over the people. Matthew 11:25-30 English Standard Version (ESV) LISTEN: www.biblegateway.com/audio/mclean/esv/Matt.11.25-Matt.11.30 Come to Me, and I Will Give You Rest 25 At that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; 26 yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. 27 All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. 28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” This seems like a strange prayer to thank the Father for hiding things from the "wise" and "understanding" and revealing them to the "little children." Jesus will be in a seemingly continuous conflict with the wise and learned religious leaders such as the Pharisees, Sadducees, scribes, teachers of the law and lawyers. Jesus says that this is part of God the Father's gracious will--that no one knows and can understand the Son (that's Jesus) except God the Father and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son reveals the Father to (that's us who have believed).
Then Jesus gives a sort of altar call that stands in contrast to the judgment He just proclaimed and the prayer that He just made. Even thought Jesus knows these cities will not repent, He still calls them to follow after Him anyways, and even though Jesus knows that many have not had their eyes opened to His identity--especially the "wise and understanding," He invites them as well, knowing that they will not see Him for who He truly is. Jesus calls all of them who are burdened under the "yoke" of the Old Testament law and the added burdens given by the Pharisees to come to Jesus and experience His yoke which does exist, but it is a much easier yoke and the burden is much lighter because Jesus took the heavy yoke and the heavy burden of fulfilling the Old Covenant perfectly upon Himself so that we don't have to. We are are given His righteousness when we repent and come to Him in faith and He takes away our old sin nature and gives us a new nature...His nature. In this way the Father who knows the Son sees the Son when the Father sees us, and we will not partake in the wrath that will be poured out on unbelievers in the end. Most religious systems have a heavy burden of trying to earn God's favor or trying to perfect oneself to the point of becoming a god, or something similar to this--some of them don't even have any assurance that their deity that they believe in will be fair and just in such a judgement (in fact, they would have to hope for an unjust judge, because we all sin so much that if we got what we deserved, none of us would deserve any kind of blessing). However, Christ has made a covenant about "being" instead of "doing"--we studied this first when we looked at the Sermon on the Mount, and it is only through faith in Him that we are made new on the inside and can even start to live according to the standards of the Sermon on the Mount that in one way are "easier" and a "lighter" burden, but in another way are so much harder because they attack the heart of the matter, and no natural man has a clean heart--a new heart must be given to Him. So you see that all the work, not just the work of the cross, but even the gift of faith and the understanding to be able to call upon the name of the Lord, and the transformation that it brings about is all from God and we can take no credit for it. In this way, the yoke is easy and the burden is light, because God is the one that takes care of all the details and we simply need to follow in the footsteps of Jesus.. Matthew 11:20-24 English Standard Version (ESV) LISTEN: https://www.biblegateway.com/audio/mclean/esv/Matt.11.20-Matt.11.24 Woe to Unrepentant Cities 20 Then he began to denounce the cities where most of his mighty works had been done, because they did not repent. 21 “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. 22 But I tell you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you. 23 And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You will be brought down to Hades. For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. 24 But I tell you that it will be more tolerable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom than for you.” Jesus is just a short way into His three-year mission on earth, and although he's focused most of His efforts on the "Evangelical Triangle" of Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum, they have all rejected Him. Jesus seems to say that His words and works would have been better received in the Gentile areas of Tyre and Sidon (wicked areas....so wicked that in one place in the Old Testament, Satan is called the king of Tyre). And I believe we have already discussed Sodom in our journey through the epistles....a city so wicked that God judged them with fire and brimstone as a sign of the coming judgment for all who would follow in their footsteps and utterly destroyed them.
While Jesus is prophesying judgement on these cities, He is still calling them to repentance saying that He desires for them to repent in sackcloth and ashes like the pagans would have done. He doesn't want to see them sent to the place of judgement (Hades). God's warning of a coming judgment is always an act of God's grace in hopes that they will repent and the judgment can be withheld, but when judgment comes it will be swift and sure and there will be no escaping it. Jesus may have been talking to these unbelieving cities in His day, but we will see in the book of the Revelation that He has a similar message for those "churches" that are really unbelieving and the book of the Revelation is a warning and a call to repentance to all those who live their lives in rebellion to God the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. It is not too late right now to repent and believe and avoid the coming judgment. The ending is clear for those who fail to repent and make Jesus both Lord and Savior. If you are reading this today and have never made that decision, today is the day of salvation for you.--it may be your one and only chance. If you want to talk to someone about this---the most important decision you could ever make--you can visit https://chataboutjesus.com/ and talk with someone via text, online chat, or phone call, or you can contact me directly and I'll be happy to talk to you. |
Daniel WestfallI will mostly use this space for recording my "journal" from my daily devotions as I hope to encourage others to read the Bible along with me and to leave a legacy for others. Archives
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